Ghanaian midfielder Michael Essien is said to have growing injury problems at Real Madrid as he spent Friday on the treatment table and unable to train normally with the rest of the team.

The midfielder has now been training alone for various days now due to different fitness problems.

Essien, who in recent weeks has had to make an extra effort and play out of position due to injuries at the club – first to full-backs and then to Xabi Alonso and Khedira in the midfield – is still unable to train normally.

After playing, the Ghanaian needs to recover from a series of knocks and has to follow a specific training plan in order to be available for the club’s next match. He’s been like that for a while. That said, he’s always been available to Mourinho whenever critical injuries have hit the squad.

But Essien isn't the only player not training normally. Kaká is in the same boat. He didn't even take to the pitch in training and just worked on recovering after playing for Brazil against Colombia.

Following the injury crisis that Real Madrid suffered after the last international break, the best news for Mourinho is that all of his internationals have returned fully fit to take part in Madrid’s next games, specifically, the big one against City in Manchester, where Real hope to seal qualification for the next round of the Champions League.